Uber Eats customers in Ontario, Canada, can now place orders for cannabis — but they won’t be available for delivery. 

What You Need To Know

  • Uber Eats customers in Ontario, Canada can place pickup orders for cannabis through dispensary Tokyo Smoke

  • Customers must be at least 19 years old in order to view the shop on the Uber Eats platform

  • Tokyo Smoke employees will check customer IDs upon arrival to verify they are of-age to purchase cannabis

  • The partnership marks the first time a cannabis purveyor has listed itself using the Uber Eats software

The new offering started on Monday thanks to a partnership between Uber Eats and cannabis retailer Tokyo Smoke, a dispensary chain founded by father-son duo Alan & Lorne Gertner in Toronto in 2015. 

Tokyo Smoke has since grown to 69 stores across Manitoba, Alberta and Ontario. 

Uber Eats users in the latter province can now place pickup orders from numerous Tokyo Smoke brick-and-mortar locations, which offer items ranging from pre-rolled joints to edible THC gummies. 

Customers must be at least 19 years old in order to view the shop on the Uber Eats platform. Once a customer arrives at a Tokyo Smoke shop to pick up their order, an employee will check their ID to verify they are of-age to purchase products with cannabis. 

The partnership marks the first time a cannabis purveyor has listed itself using the Uber Eats software. 

"Tokyo Smoke is thrilled to partner with Uber Canada on this innovative offering for our customers, bringing them high quality products and the very best customer experience," Mark Hillard, vice president of operations for Tokyo Smoke, wrote in a statement. 

"As a market leader in innovation and a platform used by so many Canadians, we believe this is the ideal next offering that can be done safely and conveniently on the Uber Eats app,” Hillard added.

Both medical and recreational cannabis are legal in Canada. In 2018, Canada’s national government legalized the possession of up to 30 grams of dried or “equivalent in non-dried form[s]” of cannabis for individuals 18 years and older; as of 2019, the sale of edible and concentrated cannabis products is also legal. 

While the national legal age to possess or purchase cannabis is 18, Ontario law mandates individuals must be 19 years old in order to purchase or otherwise possess cannabis.

A recent government report of public consumption in Canada found illegal sales of cannabis account for around 40% of the total nationwide sales despite legalization. 

Uber Eats and Tokyo Smoke hope their partnership will offer “safe, convenient options for people in Ontario to purchase legal cannabis,” according to Lola Kassim, general manager of Uber Eats Canada.

"By combining a streamlined ordering process through the Uber Eats app with Tokyo Smoke's in-person pickup service, we're creating a new end-to-end experience for responsible cannabis ordering across the province,” she added.